Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Dear Comic Art Fan,

Last week Aspen Comics released the Michael Turner Tribute Book featuring art, stories, and remembrances from Turner's family, friends, and colleagues. This Saturday, November 15th, Golden Apple Comics hosts a celebration of the superstar artist’s life and impact on the comic industry. Several of the tribute book’s contributors will be in attendance including CAF members Frank Mastromauro, Peter Steigerwald, Oliver Nome, and Eddie Nunez. Proceeds raised from both the book and event will go towards the American Cancer Society in honor of Michael Turner.

I was born in Dublin, Ireland and moved to West Palm BeachFlorida, over fifteen years ago. I work as a Director of Pastoral Care & Mission at a local hospital providing 24/7 crisis support. The world of the Legion of Superheroes has always been a good place for me to visit and recharge, when the stress of 21st century life gets too much. I fell in love with American comics when my brother brought some back from the USA, they were so different from anything I had ever seen. Like most people on CAF, I moved from comics to art. I didn’t know that you could purchase it until I walked in a store in Sebastian and saw an old Action page featuring the Legion. I bought it and although it would take me years to find my second page, I was hooked. The internet and sites like CAF really have opened up this world beyond the select and lucky few who could meet artists. I have met and made life long friendship with other collectors (A shout out to the Core Four) that make this hobby so enjoyable. This art is meant to be shared.

2. What is your favorite piece in your gallery and why?

That is like picking out a favorite child. I have a gallery called My Grails, which I invite others to check out because different pages each speak to me in a personal way but the piece I enjoy most is a Mike Grell page from Superboy & the Legion #204 featuring Brainiac 5 and Supergirl. I never dreamed I would find such a page, let alone own it. I would never have been offered it, if not for the connections I made through CAF.

3. How long have you been collecting comic art and what prompted you to start?

I found my first Legion page in the nineties but when I visited the Con at San Diego in 2003, I was blown away. I was fascinated with how much work when into a single page. I loved the extra layers on them, with the addition of word balloons or those crazy battle effects. I even loved the corrections and little side notes, it made the experience of going back and reading the comic so much richer.

4. How do you display/store your collection at home?

I live in a small townhouse and while most of it is stored in folders, I have two manuscript desks in my library that I use to rotate the comic art I have on display. Also going up and down the stairs (and protected from sunlight) I have framed 24 key pages from the Ed Benes "Return of the Supergirl " storyline and if you follow the sequence it tells agreat story about two Supergirls and the life lesson that "sometimes the answer to a prayer is... NO."

5. What are your top five most wanted original pages or commissions?

A Keith Giffen page featuring Supergirl in action, either from the Great Darkness storyline or her fighting the Emerald Empress. She really came into her own in those stories and I know they are out there somewhere.

A Crisis on Infinite Earths page featuring the Legion of Superheroes in all-out action alongside the rest of the DC universe.

A Curt Sawn Adventure page featuring either the Substitute Legion, the Super-Pets or Supergirl (or all of the above).